Community Update

Gem City Jewelers, in the heart of downtown Monrovia, has a rich and interesting history.  It is a family owned and run business, in its second generation.

It all began in the late 1970's when Archie Kazanci emigrated to the U.S. from Turkey with a Master's Degree in engineering. He settled in Monrovia, but could find no work in his field, so he pumped gas to make ends meet. Eventually, he used his engineering knowledge to fix ovens in downtown L.A.

In the meantime, Decker's Jeweler's, here in town, utilized Archie's expertise for designing special orders for their customers.  As it turned out, Archie's grandfather and father were jewelers in the old country and growing up, Archie learned a lot by helping his father and grandfather in the family business.

Over time, Archie and Mr. Decker became good friends.  They even went to Turkey together on a vacation once.  When Mr. Decker acquired cancer, he wanted to sell his business and Archie was given the first right to refusal of the jewelry store.  He decided at that point, his engineering degree would be put into his back pocket, as it seemed he was destined to continue the family tradition in the designing of jewelry in his new country.

Archie worked hard and built a good business for himself here in town.  Then, in 1992, he thought about retiring.  Just about this time, he became the victim of a robbery, was hot and left for dead.  The police, fire department and general community in Monrovia were so shocked and horrified by this event, that they rallied and supported him to such and extent, he just couldn't retire.  To this day, he carries two bullets in his body, which were too dangerous to remove.

So thankful for his life and all the kind deeds and concern from our town, that each year on the anniversary of the day of the robbery/shooting (October 8, 1992), he runs a sale that continues until Christmas.  His family considers that date his new "birthdate".

In 2004, his son, Sarven, began working closely with his father.  As of 2007, Sarven and his very able assistant, Sky, have taken over the business.  The7y continue to honor Archie's new "birthdate" with that sale from October-December each year' in remembrance of his father's life, the police and fire departments who rallied around him, and the community of Monrovia who supported him through it all.

Shopping at Gem City Jewelers is almost like going to a relative's house.  Sarven and Sky continue Archie's tradition of greeting each customer with warmth and a degree of friendliness, knowledge, honesty and expertise rarely seen in stores today.  As a matter of fact, they have customers who have moved away, who still come to see them when back in California; either for a repair, a design or a purchase. 

The best way to sum up gem City Jewelers is to say that over the last 35 or so years, they have built personnel relationships with their customers and have continued to flourish in our town due to their honesty, service, and expertise.  They represent the American Dream achieved...and we in Monrovia have the benefit of their dream's realization!